Many endoprosthetic joint replacements currently implanted in patients include a highly polished metal or ceramic component articulating on an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) material or blend. Wear and abrasion resistance, coefficient of friction, impact strength, toughness, density, biocompatibility and biostability are some of the properties that make UHMWPE a suitable material for such implants. Although UHMWPE has been used in implants for many years, there is continuing interest in the wear and durability characteristics of implants incorporating UHMWPE.
One method employed to improve the durability and other physical characteristics of UHMWPE implants has been to expose such implants to radiation, for example gamma radiation or electron beam radiation, to induce crosslinking in the UHMWPE. Similar radiation sources have also been used to sterilize UHMWPE implants prior to distribution.
Despite the benefits of irradiating UHMWPE implants, the irradiation process may lead to increased rates of oxidation in the UHMWPE implant. In particular, irradiation has been shown to generate free radicals, which react in the presence of oxygen to form peroxyl radicals. These free radicals and peroxyl radicals may react with the polyethylene backbone and with each other to form oxidative degradation products and additional radical species. This cycle of oxidation product and radical species formation may occur over several years (both prior to and after implantation) as oxidation levels in the implant increase.
One method that has been utilized to reduce oxidation in irradiated UHMWPE materials is the addition of a stabilizing component to the UHMWPE material to inhibit the oxidation cycle. However, the addition of a stabilizer or stabilizing components, such as vitamin E, to UHMWPE prior to irradiation has been shown to have an adverse effect on crosslinking during irradiation. See Parth et al., “Studies on the effect of electron beam radiation on the molecular structure of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene under the influence of α-tocopherol with respect to its application in medical implants,” Journal of Materials Science: Materials In Medicine, 13 (2002), pgs. 917-921.
For this reason, the addition of stabilizers to UHMWPE materials after forming and irradiating via diffusion has been proposed. See e.g., PCT Published Application No. WO 2004/101009. However, the addition of stabilizers after irradiation has several limitations. For example, vitamin E diffusion may provide a less uniform distribution of stabilizer in UHMWPE than pre-irradiation mixing. Diffusion of the vitamin E may also require separate irradiation steps to induce crosslinking prior to adding vitamin E and then to sterilize the implant after adding vitamin E.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a method of forming a crosslinked UHMWPE material for use in implanted articles that overcomes one or more of these limitations.